Louis: Nine Months Old

Believe it or not. Another month down. Second baby syndrome is in full force and time is flying by. Louis had his well baby appointment today and is coming in at 18.5 lbs and just shy of 30 inches tall (well, long). That puts him in the 25 percentile for weight and 75 percentile for height. He's stayed steady on his growth curve and although he is a string bean he feels incredibly heavy to lug around. I looked up Norah's stats at the same time and he is about a half pound heavier than she was and an inch longer. He was born a pound less (same length) but the growth chart is different for boys so they are right in the same ball park. Very interesting given since at this point she was exclusively breast fed and he has (for the most part) been entirely formula fed. Genetics are strong, people.

I think as of maybe yesterday we can officially call him a crawling baby. He's been pretty mobile for months (army crawling, hysteric rolling, flinging his body backwards, etc.), but he finally seems to have the coordination of arms and legs working together. He loves to do this move where he basically gets in a downward facing dog yoga position and then hurls himself forward. Hey, whatever works.

His disposition continues to be mellow and sweet. His curious side is starting to emerge a bit more and his favorite game in the whole world is to have someone else build a tower of blocks, then lumber over and smack it down. He loves trucks and balls and blocks, as well as dolls, tea cups and his sister's princess shoes. He loves bath time and textured books, being outside and getting tickled. He gives great hugs and loves to drum on anything and everything he can get his hands on.

He hates the drain in the bathtub (scares the crap out of him), holding still for diaper changes, getting his hair washed, eating food from a spoon, not being able to move his body as fast as his brain, and sleeping by himself at night. Good thing the good outweighs the bad.

Norah and Lou are thick as thieves. One of my favorite things IN THE WORLD is when they take a bath together. I don't let them do it every night because it 1) soaks the entire bathroom, and 2) is hard on one's nerves (constant vigilance). But the splashing. Oh, the splashing and laughing and laughing and laughing. One of these days I will get someone else to take video of it (I am on high drowning alert), because it's pure gold.

Happy nine months, Lou. You are such an integral part of what makes this family work. Plus, you're cute. We love you a whole lot.

Pumpkin Pie

Louis has not been the most consistent eater when it comes to solid foods. Basically, he refuses anything off of a spoon and will only entertain the notion of food he can pick up himself. Although he has quite the pincer grasp for a 9 month old he is, well, 9 months old. And there is only so much stuff I am willing to allow him to try and cram in his mouth. Even finger foods are hit or miss, though. One day he can't get enough cheese cubes. The next, cheese is the devil. So, basically, he eats just like Norah did. Hooray.

He was pretty uninterested in Thanksgiving dinner and even less interested in Thanksgiving leftovers. Until I gave him a taste of Aunt Stephanie's pumpkin pie. Then it was game on. He could.not.get.enough. I know, I know, pumpkin pie is a dessert. With sugar. But it isn't like it's chocolate cake. It's pumpkin. That's a vegetable.

Anyway, today Aunt Stephanie made Lou his very own pumpkin pie. It was waiting in the fridge when we got back from his well baby visit today. Now that's service for you.

Jealous yet?

I don't skimp on portions when we are talking about pie.

He was hooked from the first bite.

And kept looking for more. This is his "lady, move faster. Put that pie in my face!" look.

He ate that entire piece of pie, save for about a bite (that went in my mouth) and most of the crust. Hey, the crust is my favorite part.

See, there are peas on his plate too. I am not that bad of a mom!

Norah was horrified at the thought that she would have to eat regular dinner (ie, ravioli and broccoli), while Louis got to have pie and peas. So, she got pie for dinner too and I didn't have to make ravioli and broccoli. Everybody wins.

Swoon

Norah has been saying such sweet and funny things lately, I want to remember them forever:

Lou has had a string of really, really bad nights and the other day I stumbled out of the bedroom more than a bit disheveled in a tank top and old pj pants. As soon as N saw me she said, "good morning mom! You look SO CUTE in those nice kajamas."

She has incorporated the word 'unfortunately' into her vocabulary with vigor. As in, "unfortunately, we can only have one treat a day."

Last week while Megan and Trevor were here they had to go home because Megan hurt her toe. When we were in the car driving to their house for Thanksgiving N said, "oh, I can't wait to ask Megan if her toe is okay!"

We have been doing some Christmas shopping together and at one point N melted down a bit because she was worried that no one was buying HER any presents. After many talks about the meaning of Christmas in our house (the giving of not only gifts but acts of service to others), I do really believe she gets it. The other day at breakfast she told me, "Christmas is not just about me. It's kind of hard to be three."

She will get upset for no reason sometimes, especially when she is very tired. We both agreed that sometimes you just need to cry, but that when it happens she needs to excuse herself and be upset in her room. She fell asleep in the car on the way home from Thanksgiving and was really grouchy and having a fit when I had to wake her up. I gave her a hug and she told me, "I will just be in my room having a good cry."

We went out yesterday and she insisted on wearing her Christmas dress and carrying a black leather purse that said 'I love shoes.' (See pic.) We were at lunch and she busted out all of these toys to keep Lou entertained. She packed her purse full of crackers for them to share and toys for her brother.

Best kid ever.

Game Changer

Lou was already in bed and started fussing. I let him fuss for about 5 minutes but went in when it evolved into an actual cry. This is what I found. Not sure we are ready for this.

Happy...

Thanksgiving to all and to all a good night!

Louis Ate Sh*t Today

Louis ate shit today. This is not a euphemism for falling on his face, taking a tumble, etc. He actually ate shit. As in excrement. Of the human variety.

Like most boys his age, Lou is obsessed with his, ahem, junk. In fact, whenever he gets a diaper change it's the first thing he goes for. I am usually a step ahead of him and when said diaper is fully loaded, I clean the junk first and then it isn't a big deal when he puts his hands there (yes, yes, I wash his hands immediately after). Today, however, I opened his diaper to find a big, steamy, smells-like-the-zoo-on-a-hot-day mess and he immediately.... GRABBED HIS BUTT CHEEKS. With both hands. Butt cheeks that were smeared in a thick layer of, well, shit. Oh, the horror. I froze for a split second because there was shit everywhere on his lower body, and now on his hands as well. I frantically started wiping his hands first, but he jerked them away.

To put them both in his mouth. IN HIS MOUTH. My sweet baby boy ate a whole lotta shit. I was actually afraid he might choke, so I sat him up right away, fished it out as much as possible, and then hosed him down and let him drink as much water as he wanted. I was fully expecting there to be vomiting, considering the shit smelled as though it had come from an actual rhinoceros. But, Lou was pretty much unfazed by the whole ordeal. I, on the other hand, may never recover.

Enjoying a lasagna, pea, mango (and shit free) dinner.

Testing

Being able to post from my phone changes everything! Now I just have to figure out how to properly size pictures....

There are a lot of things I don't like about this house, but the kids' rooms are amazing. They are both HUGE. Like a play room and bedroom in one. Plenty of room to host friends. Maybe even from California. Just sayin'.

Trying Something New

I just downloaded an app that will allow me to post from my phone (thanks, M). Let's see if it works.

N is currently obsessed with playing Snow White and here she has just taken a bite of the poison apple. Grumpy is in the background doing some push ups.

Snippits

We finally got some rain the other day. It thundered and rained on and off for most of the morning. Norah asked where thunder came from and I said the clouds. She said it sounded like Louie's butt (she's kind of right). At one point I took Lou to his room to give him a bottle and settle him down for a nap and when I returned (no more than 10 minutes later), this is what I found.

These two constantly swap pacis. It's rather disgusting.

It was the same rainy day but we had to get out of the house, so we headed over to Aunt Amy's where baby costume hijinks ensued.

Lou has gigantic feet.

I am not a shopper at all (shocking, I know), and before Norah was born rarely would set foot in a mall. I got used to malls when she was a baby, however, as they are good places to 1) get out of the heat with a baby, 2) get out of the rain with a baby, and 3) get out of the godforsaken house with a baby. There is a mall not too far from here that's exceptionally kid friendly with a play structure, ride on train, full sized carousel, and a plethora of Christmas decorations. We went to ride the carousel today and ended up walking around for two hours just looking at stuff. Norah was in rare form and made an excellent shopping companion. We were walking through the dress department of a big store and she was obsessed with all things sequin. She declared this one her favorite and said that she was going to marry Caleb while wearing this dress.

The end.

Message

Norah asked if she could type her own message to send to Caroline, Ruby, Pamma, Sean, her pretend friends Ally and Sienna, Suzy, Tony (our old 93 year old neighbor), Caleb, Aileen, Megan, Ruby's little sister (born this morning, yay!!!!), Ava, Jennifer, Grandpa Gene and Ms. Mary:

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvjjjjjjjnnnnnnnnnnnnnnmmMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMKKKKKKKKKKLLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOPPPPPP
PWWWWWWWWWWWWWWSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
FFFFFFFFFFF

A Night Away

We had a bunch of credit card rewards points that were about to expire, so I decided it would be a (brilliant) idea to spend a weekend away in San Antonio. BVZ nixed the idea of going up on Friday and spending 2 nights, but agreed that a Saturday to Sunday plan was completely acceptable. In retrospect he was very right and I am (usually) glad he is around to temper my grand ideas.

The plan was to leave after ballet class and make the 90 mile drive. Ballet class ends at 10:30. I think we left the house at 1:30. Eh, at least we were being relaxed about it. We made good time (stopping only once to pee and get Norah her favorite thing of all times--a gas station treat), and got there around 3:30. We stayed at the historic La Mansion del Rio (now owned by Omni). Although check in was at 3:00 we were told there were no rooms available just yet because they were running behind. Little did we know that this was also the weekend of the San Antonio marathon and grumpy people filled the lobby (I am not sure why they were so grumpy? I guess that's what running 26 miles at a time does to your disposition)? They was also a large wedding party in one of the ballrooms and they took up a lot of space. But weren't grumpy. Because they had wine.

The kids were in good spirits, so we walked around the hotel for a while and stuck our feet in the pool. Norah wanted to get in but I told her we didn't have her swimming suit. She asked if she could go in naked. I told her that was called skinny dipping and no, she couldn't. So of course she proceeded to yell across the pool at BVZ, "hey, dad, want to go skinny dipping?" He said no too.

We waited about 30 or 45 minutes and then BVZ asked me to go ahead and be a squeaky wheel. So, I went up to the front desk with Lou and in a low voice told them that while we absolutely understood how busy they were, we were about to have two simultaneous meltdowns in their front lobby (not true), and they were very accommodating and pushed us to the front of the line. Two minutes later we got the keys to our room.

We headed up to our 3rd floor room to find....that it hadn't actually been cleaned yet. By this point at least Lou really was on the verge, so I called down and very nicely let the front desk know what had happened. I give them props for responding immediately and the manager personally escorted us to an upgraded room on the top floor with a view of the Riverwalk.

The manager was very apologetic and I told him it wasn't a big deal and not to stress about it. He thanked us for being so gracious and I told him that we tell our kids that they can't throw a fit just because something doesn't go their way and we are trying to teach them to pick their battles wisely. Because we expect them to behave a certain way and treat people with kindness, we have to lead by example and act the same way. He called us model parents. Ha. Little did he know that just that morning the neighbor heard Norah yell out the front door, "hey you asshole cat, get back in here!"


It was lovely but it made me nervous to have Norah running out there, so we let her check it out and then I locked the door and moved the giant armchair in front of it.


Someone was very glad to finally be there.

We decided to walk around the Riverwalk for a while and grab an early dinner.



The outside of our hotel.

There are a ton of good restaurants up and down the Riverwalk, but Norah was hungry (and BVZ wanted a beer), so even though I wanted to assess our options before deciding, I was outvoted and we ended up at the Iron Cactus. I have been to the Iron Cactus many times before (there is one in Austin as well) and it is always pretty mediocre. Norah liked her quesadilla, though, so that's something. They only had a handful of wines by the glass and only one kind of Sauvignon Blanc (my favorite white), so I just ordered by saying, "can I have a glass of the Sauvignon Blanc?" The waitress looked at me as though I had just ordered a glass of wine from the moon and said something to the effect of, "we don't have fancy stuff like that here." I showed her on the menu what I was talking about and she said, "oh, that wine is called Geyser Peak." Oh, Texas. Silly, silly Texas.

There are boat tours that go up and down the river and Norah become mildly obsessed with going on one. We made the tactical decision that BVZ and Lou should go get a beer and watch the game at the bar of the restaurant while Norah and I went on the boat. Tactical decision. Which was fine with me. We had a great time.

The tour was actually really interesting and I learned a lot of things I didn't know. Like, part of the river is man made (created for the World's Fair), and our hotel was once St. Mary's law school. I told Norah that when you are on a boat and go under a bridge you are supposed to kiss the one you love. There were about 15 bridges, so I got about 15 kisses. Love.

We found the guys and then found gelato.

We called it a night and went back to the room to get everyone in bed. Unbeknownst to us, during the course of our Riverwalk adventure, Louis had a big, disgusting, messy poop (he has had been sick the entire week before and ended up with a DOUBLE ear infection. Gah. So, he was on antibiotics that wreaked all kinds of havoc on his digestive system). But, because Lou is Lou he didn't complain one bit and so we didn't know of his butt explosion until it had likely been there for a while. A butt explosion that basically burned the skin in his diaper area-as it turns out antibiotic laced pee and poop is like acid on the skin. He actually had a blister and the entire area was incredibly red and sore. Of course, at that point, screaming ensued.

I have to give him credit though, he rallied and was a brave kid and both he and Norah passed out with very little effort on our part.


I knew Lou wouldn't stay in the pack-n-play all night, so the plan was to have Norah with BVZ and Louis with me. He woke up and I took him to bed about an hour later and the four of us had the best night sleep we've had in months. Apparently our children just need to 1) sleep with one of us, and 2) sleep in a hotel.

The hotel had also given us vouchers for Sunday brunch at a restaurant across the river for our "inconvenience" the day before, so we woke up and headed over there for a good meal. Norah was excited because we were going to the zoo after breakfast and kept saying at top volume, "IS THIS THE ZOO? WHERE IS THE ZOO? I REALLY WANT TO GO TO THE ZOO. YOU SAID WE WERE GOING TO THE ZOO. IS THIS THE ZOO? WHERE ARE THE ANIMALS? I DON'T SEE ANY ANIMALS." You get the idea. So, I was attempting to temper her and feed Lou at the same time. He was completely uninterested in breakfast and had antibiotic tummy, so quickly proceeded to projectile vomit all over the table and then again all over the floor. BVZ was not phased by this and went back to the buffet a second time. The food was great, but one of the most UN-relaxing meals I have had in a long time (I never actually even made it to the buffet-just had some of Norah's pancake discards).

The plan was to meet my old friend Monica and her family at the zoo. She was actually my roommate my freshman year of college and she and her family moved from San Antonio to Seattle, back to San Antonio. I hadn't seen her in 16 years. 16 years! We had kept up over the years through email and Facebook, but I literally hadn't seen her since we were 19.

Of course, she was just as awesome as she was 16 years ago, and it was though no time had ever passed. She has a lovely 2.5 year old daughter, A, and she and Norah became fast friends. They are also expecting #2 next spring. I can't wait to hang out with them again now that we are no close geographically. I see a lot of margaritas in our future.

I took very few pictures at the zoo. It was hot and I was too busy talking.







All in all, a successful family adventure.

Humans

This morning Norah was running around the house being Belle (BVZ was Gaston and I was Mrs. Potts. I hate being Mrs. Potts). She got quiet for a while and then said:

"I know that a girl can marry a boy and a girl can marry a girl. But is it okay for a girl to marry an animal?" Clearly the logistics of Beauty and the Beast trouble her.

Louis went down for a nap a bit later and she asked to watch an episode of Max and Ruby. She told me:

"I like Ruby. But she's a rabbit. I LOVE my friend Ruby. She's a human. I like humans better than rabbits."

Sticky Sicky

Lou has his first bad cold. Nothing serious, but an awful lot of snot. He's basically a hot mess. But look how cute he still is. SO CUTE.

Dancing Queen

Norah has finally started dance class again. This time she's taking both ballet and tap. She's totally into it. Most days after school and on the weekends she will put on her dance clothes and give us a "showcase performance" (not sure where that terminology came from...my guess television). Luckily the fireplace makes an excellent stage. And yes, those are tv trays covering the opening to the fireplace. Loretta, the world's worst cat, likes the fireplace.